Three Governor’s Races Remain Tight

With the general election three weeks away, races for the governor’s office in three states remain tight.

Thad Beyle, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who studies gubernatorial politics, now puts the Indiana governor’s race—where incumbent Mitch Daniels, a Republican, is facing Democrat Jill Long Thompson—as leaning right or a toss-up. Beyle said last month Daniels would probably win re-election, but recent polls showing the Republican ahead by only 4 percentage points has caused the re-evaluation.

Beyle still considers the governor’s races in North Carolina and Washington as toss-ups. In North Carolina, popular Democratic Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue is running against Republican Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. Washington’s election is a rematch of the one four years ago when Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, narrowly defeated Sen. Dino Rossi, a Republican.

Polls show those races are still tight, with McCrory polling slightly ahead of Perdue, 43 percent to 41 percent, and Gregoire ahead of Rossi 50 percent to 48 percent, according to Beyle.

In the other races, Beyle predicts Delaware, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire and West Virginia will go to the Democrats, while North Dakota, Utah and Vermont will go to Republicans.

Check back with the CSG Elections Center throughout this election season for more information on state races.